University Relations

Public Relations

Public Relations tells the stories of the people, the work, and the value that the University of Minnesota delivers to the state, its economy, and its residents. We work with internal and external partners to communicate through the media and other venues.

News Service

What we do:

• Work with partners to identify and frame stories to reflect the University’s mission
• Publicize stories about University faculty, staff, and student accomplishments and institutional priorities
• Provide public relations support and counsel to colleges and units, including developing communications plans and messages
• Help reporters find faculty sources and manage media requests
• Provide news story content through written and multimedia formats
• Write and distribute press releases on behalf of the administration and collegiate and departmental units
• Conduct media training and coaching for faculty, staff, and students

For more information about the University News Service, contact Chuck Tombarge at 612-625-8510 or tombarge@umn.edu. For the News Service, call 612-624-5551.

Internal Communications

What we do:

• Develop and implement internal communications strategies for key University initiatives
• Create and coordinate an internal communications program that effectively keeps all constituencies informed and builds support for the University’s mission
• Build productive partnerships with a wide variety of University decision-making bodies and communications professionals in order to coordinate and improve communications and culture at the University
• Serve as an internal communications expert, advising a broad range of internal constituents on the most effective and efficient methods of achieving their communications goals
• Publish Brief, the University’s weekly e-newsletter for faculty and staff, and manage the faculty and staff views of the U’s home page

For more information about Internal Communications, contact Ann Freeman at 612-624-1663 or afreeman@umn.edu.

Reinventing Internal Communications

The Reinventing Internal Communications initiative provided an inclusive, long-term process to research, develop, and report on the development of a strategic internal communications function at the University of Minnesota. Detailed information about the initiative can be found on the Faculty and Staff website.